This invention relates to computed tomographic (CT) imaging, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for obtaining data and for generating CT scout images using a mechanical CT scanner.
Many organs of a body, such as, for example, kidneys do not lie in the conventional sagittal, coronal, or axial planes of the body. Such organs are best viewed in an angle between the coronal and sagittal views. Tomosynthesis is one technique that allows a radiologist to view individual planes of an organ of interest, potentially reducing the problem of superimposed structures that may limit conventional techniques. Tomosynthesis carried out on known X-ray systems over a limited set of views can provide the radiologist with a stereoscopic view of the object with a feel for the depth. However, three-dimensional (3D) structures are currently limited in that they are viewed mostly as two-dimensional structures on the X-ray films. Accordingly, the methods and apparatus described herein address the detection and diagnosis of three-dimensional structures by obtaining data and generating CT scout images, as known as scanogram.